


The Lonely Letters

by Cluck_and_Peck



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Female Bilbo, Rule 63
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-10 08:03:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3282980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cluck_and_Peck/pseuds/Cluck_and_Peck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I thought you’d be close judging by the way she was always talking about you.” The doctor had said and she had been hard pressed to keep that dry laugh at bay. Rhea and her mother, close? There was nothing more laughable in the world. But it did still beg the question of why the doctor seemed to know Bilba so well when she must have come to them in a state of unconsciousness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lonely Letters

The tiny house had an even tinier attic that she was now climbing into. Rhea wrinkled her nose at the smell of mothballs and once again wished that her mother had been just a little bit richer and perhaps been able to afford someone to clean up the space once in a while. Then again if she had been richer maybe she wouldn’t have been living in such a dump. A moment of pity went out for the woman who had given birth to her, currently in a hospital bed in a coma. It had been six months since her accident and the doctors, who had all shot Rhea strange looks for dropping in suddenly, had told her that it might help her recovery if she was surrounded by something familiar. The strange looks had only gotten worse when she told them that she hadn’t talked to her mother in years, not apart from the birthday calls, not since she’d moved to her father’s mansion when she’d been very young.

 _“I thought you’d be close judging by the way she was always talking about you.”_ The doctor had said and she had been hard pressed to keep that dry laugh at bay. Rhea and her mother, close? There was nothing more laughable in the world. But it did still beg the question of why the doctor seemed to know Bilba so well when she must have come to them in a state of unconsciousness.

That’s when Rhea found out that her mother volunteered at the hospital. Why she would ever want to spend time in a place where diseased people came to die, Rhea didn’t quite understand, she herself had never been to a hospital, the doctors paid house visits at the mansion. But the doctor told her that Bilba was actually quite popular among the children, she told the best stories and made the best cakes. As far as Rhea knew, Bilba didn’t want anything to do with kids or at least, didn’t want anything to do with her own.

Rhea coughed as her foot hit a box and a cloud of dust went up. The throbbing in her toe alerted her to the fact that it wasn’t a cardboard box like everything else in the attic and instead an actual chest made of iron. It looked like it was right out of a fantasy movie, a heavy thing with beautiful carvings running all along it. She scoffed but was intrigued nonetheless.

“What treasures do you hold?” She said out loud and knelt, grimacing at the dirt that would now be covering her bum but her curiosity was too strong and she folded her legs under her and began flipping through all the myriad of latches running along the top until the final one was undone. She heaved the lid with all her might but it didn’t budge even the slightest and she huffed annoyed before noticing that the final latch had slid open to reveal a keyhole.

She could have just left it there and given up but she was a Durin and Durins never give up. It wasn’t hard to find a toolbox, there was one right there in the attic and she took to the task with a crowbar but no amount of leverage would open that chest.

Frustrated, she set the task aside for a while, climbing down the stairs and went into Bilba’s bedroom expecting to find something ‘familiar’ as the doctors had put it and cringed at the place.

An ugly knitted afghan lay upon the bed, blinding her with their many colours. She folded it to take it with her deciding it to be familiar enough. Still shaking her head in disdain she ran her eyes over the shabby place. Flower patterned curtains, plain bed with a mattress that was just far too old and a dresser with a little box on it that looked eerily like the treasure chest in the attic. Rhea threw the afghan back onto the bed with little care and opened the box, practically dancing with joy upon finding a key there; one that looked like it would fit the treasure chest perfectly. She took the stairs two at a time, flying over them all and with trembling hands; she put the key into the hole and turned, earning a satisfied click.

Rhea wondered why this treasure chest was so important to her mother. Why she would keep it locked up and the key right next to her bed at arm’s length? Why, if it was opened so often and it must have been because the key turned with too much ease, why was it hidden away in the attic?

And why did Rhea have the feeling that something of great importance laid in that chest?

So with shaking hands she threw the chest open but the expectant look on her face fell away into confusion. For there where she expected treasure or jewels or something of great value, were letters, hundreds of them and all of them bearing her name on the envelope. They were arranged neatly, all perfectly kept in pristine white covers, large envelopes that were heavy to the touch filled until almost bursting and with a frown Rhea took the one at the end and considered it.

They hadn’t been sent, so obviously Bilba hadn’t wanted them to be read. But then they were written anyway and addressed to her, why shouldn’t she read them?

Before she could change her mind she ripped the envelope open and took out the many pages folded over and began reading.

_Dear Rhea,_

The very first line and she couldn’t quite handle it. Rhea put the letter down for a brief moment and pushed the rage away. That Bilba should address her so familiarly after abandoning her was frustrating to say the least. But she was a Durin and Durins endure.

_Dear Rhea,_

_There’s a new patient in the hospital today, a girl, only ten. Her name is Madison and she has leukaemia and she’s been battling it for quite some time now with no betterment. Madison is very grown up for her age and spends a lot of time reading. The other kids tried to get her involved but she’s rather withdrawn. I told a lot of stories to get her to laugh but she only ever cracked a smile when I told her about you. I remember how you were so sick when you were little too but now you’re qualifying for Erebor’s Archery team for the Olympics and piloting planes across the world. She says if she ever gets better she wants to do all those things too. She looks up to you I think and she should too, you’re amazing. I wish I could introduce you to Madison._

And that was as far as Rhea could go. Six months ago, which was when Bilba had written this, only two people knew that she was qualifying for the Olympics and they were her cousins Fili and Kili. So how on Earth did her mother know about it?

**To: Fee; Kee**  
 **From: Ree**  
 **Do you guys talk to Bilba about me?**

**From: Fee**  
 **To: Ree; Kee**  
 **Why the sudden curiosity?**

**From: Kee**  
 **To: Ree: Fee**  
 **Has she woken up?**

**To: Fee; Kee**  
 **From: Ree**  
 **No just curious. Did you talk to her about me?**

There was a long drawn out silence and from what she knew of them she was certain Fili and Kili were talking amongst each other, deciding what to tell her and that was answer enough for her.

Fact: Bilba Baggins was her mother.

Fact: Bilba had never told Dad about having Rhea until she wanted something.

Fact: After getting whatever it was that she wanted, Bilba never came back for her. Obviously she didn’t want to have anything to do with her.

Fact: Despite wanting nothing to do with her Bilba had been keeping up on everything she had ever done.

Fact: Bilba was unreasonably proud of her

Fact: Bilba apparently wrote her hundreds of letters that she never sent.

The phone chirped and she read the answer that Fili and Kili had finally sent, trying to calm her oddly fast heart down.

**From: Fee**  
 **To: Ree**  
 **Are you asking us about Bilba?**

**To: Fee; Kee**  
 **From: Ree**  
 **Yes**

**From: Kee**  
 **To: Fee; Ree**  
 **Oh good because we aren’t allowed to talk about her unless you ask. Thorin’s rules.**

**From: Fee**  
 **To: Ree**  
 **We only talk to her about you when she asks. She asks all the time.**

Fact: Fili and Kili knew Bilba.

Fact: They trusted her enough to tell her everything about the daughter she didn’t want.

Fact: Dad hadn’t allowed Fili and Kili to tell her anything about her mother.

Fact: Dad hated Bilba.

Fact: Dad had been sulking and drinking a lot ever since Bilba had been in the accident.

Fact: The only reason she was even here was because she’d found Dad drunk and hysterically sobbing over a picture of Bilba.

Fact: Rhea didn’t know anything anymore.


End file.
